Monday, March 23, 2009

MAJOR NEWS: Victorian Cycling Strategy released!

After the release of this plan was delayed in Feburary due to the bushfires, Brumby (premier) and Pallas (minister for roads and ports) today jointly released the "Victorian Cycling Strategy" (not the "Victorian Bicycle Plan" name I was using) at some park I could not identify when I saw footage on Ten News!

I have briefly read the plan and have summarised the planned improvements which are only relevant to "Melbourne Bike Routes" If you are looking for regional bike route improvements and other aspects of the plan which are non-route based (such as school education programs etc. etc., you should look at the plan yourself)

Whilst I think the statistics and graphs and tables are good analysis to the current cycling situation in Victoria, like yourself, I am only interested in what they are actually going to do in terms of cycling infrastructure in Melbourne. I will now start my comprehensive list of planned improvements relevant to MBR.

CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY OR WILL COMMENCE IN 2009/2010

Maroondah Highway footbridge: Construction of a new bridge over the Maroondah Highway in Lilydale to form an extension of the Lilydale - Warburton Rail Trail from Maroondah Highway to Lilydale Railway Station.

York Road traffic lights: Provision of a signalised crossing on the Lilydale-Warburton Rail Tail to provide access across York Road, Mt. Evelyn.

Bulleen Road lanes: New on-road bicycle lanes between the Koonung Creek (the creek bridge, not the trail) to Golden Way.

PRIORITY ACTIONS AND PROJECTS MENTIONED IN THE VICTORIAN TRANSPORT PLAN TO BE COMPLETED BY 2021

10km radius priority cycle routes: The routes highighted in blue on the map below show routes (both on and off road) which will receive priority attention to help make inner city cycling faster and more comfortable.

Inner east route upgrade/extension: Upgrade the cycle route to the east, extending the existing route to Kew/Camberwell North.Note: I am not sure what this route actually is. If anyone knows, please leave a comment.

Gardiners Creek Trail further upgrades: Further upgrades (suggesting it will occur in sections other than Glenferrie - Toorak Roads as mentioned above) for the trail.

Maribyrnong River Trail upgrade: Suggests that it is just a general upgrade of existing sections of trail.

North inner city link upgrade: Link and possibly upgrade the link from Queens Parade to Albert Street.

Cycle route planning website: Development of a cycle route planning website with information about different types of cycle routes in the network and links to public transport. This website may be incorporated in or linked to the State Government’s journey planning website for public transport (Metlink).

Public bike hire scheme: This program, provided for under the Victorian Transport Plan, will establish a system for Melbourne based on successful systems in Paris and other parts of Europe. It will promote greater usage of existing cycling infrastructure in central Melbourne, and promote cycling for short trips in and around the CBD. The system will extend the reach of public transport at the destination, as cycling is faster than walking and more flexible than route-based public transport, and it will build on current strategic efforts by the State to develop safer and more accessible cycling infrastructure. The system will exist within central Melbourne providing access to the inner Melbourne cycling network. The proposed first stage will include at least 50 bicycle stations within central Melbourne, spaced approximately 500 m apart, with capacity for at least 600 bicycles at start-up and the option for quick expansion. The state will work in close consultation with the City of Melbourne and intends to issue a Request for Tender in 2009.Note: I want to know how they are going to stop people from stealing the bikes!

UPDATE: I have found more information about this scheme. It should be up and running by 2010 and will offer memberships in the form of either daily, weekly or yearly periods. The first half hour of all trips are free as well with additional fees after that. It looks like you pay a fee to have access to the bikes, then you can ride around for free for half an hour, but if you return a bike to a station after that time, you will pay a fee.

Railway station bike cages: 26 bikes in each, with ability to expand, 18 already installed at metro stations, 10 more in future. Then case by case basis afterwards.

9 comments:

I was in Paris a couple of weeks ago, and got around on Velib. I think it works real well.

Certainly the system has a lot of use. Really serious amounts. And it's easy to use, quick and simple. The bikes are simple, but well suited to inner city riding.

But I don't know how well it will adapt to Melbourne. Paris has a much higher population density, much worse traffic, and is flatter. In addition to this, there's a massive bicycle culture in Paris - bicycles *everywhere* - perhaps 10-fold what I see in inner Melbourne, and a serious commitment to bicycle paths everywhere.

The biggest problem I found with Velib: what do you do when you get to your destination, and there's no slot for returning your bike? Happened a couple of times out of about 16 times I used a velib, and one time me and a bunch of locals hung around looking impatient until someone took a bike. grrr.

As for stealing bikes - on Velib you pay a deposit, which you lose if the bike gets stolen. Seems pretty straight forward to me.

Thanks for the comment. That gives me more insight into how this system could work. I was under the impression you put some money in a bike station pay machine, then you take the bike wherever, and get money back when you return the bike to a station.

in principle you do, but you pay by credit card, and the first thing they do is bill you the deposit, which is refunded at the end of your period. That's the short term arrangement. I'm not sure what the long-term one is.

I think this cycling strategy will be helpful for people who are inner as well as outer city riders. Nice to see about the "Melbourne Bike Routes". Also Melbourne is improving the cycling strategy every now and then.

Used to ride into the City everyday for 6 years. Got so used to the bike tracks that now I am riding the opposite direction to Dandenong I miss them. 2 years now I have been riding to Dandenong and there is NO cycling infrastructure this side. The bike lanes don't marry up, you have to keep swapping sides when you follow the train tracks. I have sent numerous letters to Parliament and Council members on the obvious lack of facilities this side and keep getting the same response, it's someone elses job.Did the whole ride to work thing, (I do it every day anyway) and stopped off in Dandenong for the community breakfast, what a joke. May aswell never have had it in the first place.I am now one of the poor cycling cousins everyone talks about. Have you seen the amount of vacant land beside the tracks that runs all the way from Oakleigh to Dandenong. Enough room to put a road and a bike path.I must say I am very dissapointed that once again we here in the poor end of town don't get a mention.

Who runs this blog?

I am a male who lives and breathes all things Melbourne, with a general interest in transport. I am an ideas man who wishes to gain more public interest in transport issues which sometimes get overlooked.